


Defying Prophecy

by AJsRandom



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Adventure, Epic Friendship, Gen, Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-04
Updated: 2015-06-03
Packaged: 2018-04-02 19:02:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,391
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4071082
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AJsRandom/pseuds/AJsRandom
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A somewhat crack-ish take on 5.13. Goes AU after the reveal and fixes a few plot holes and bits I didn't care for. Because even though we knew how it was going to end, we don't have to like it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place near the beginning of The Diamond of the Day, pt. 2. I shamelessly borrowed a bit of dialog from that episode, but not so much after this first part. I meant this to be a one-shot, but it ballooned to 8,500 words, sooo it's a one-shot in 3 parts. Make sense? No? Well, I hope you'll read it anyway. I fix numerous plot holes in a crack-y, divergently AU manner (after the whole reveal bit). Enjoy! Oh, I don't own Merlin, though I enjoyed the lovely writing and acting of this episode.

The first thing Arthur noticed when he woke up was the crackling, popping and hissing of a fire. The second was the searing pain of a wound on the left side of his torso. And his third was a thought—where the hell am I?

Arthur opened his eyes and saw the fire in front of him, but could barely feel its warmth. Across the fire sat Merlin's familiar form; well, his back anyway. His heart leapt at the thought of being reunited with his- okay, he'd admit it -friend. Reunited? They'd been separated? But—why? He tried to remember the time before he woke up, but found only fuzzy, indistinct thoughts that hurt.

He decided to find out. "Merlin."

Merlin got up and walked over to him, a touch hesitant. "How are you feeling?"

Arthur tried to move into a sitting position, but the pain was too much to bear and he called out, "Ah, ah!" He grabbed Merlin's shoulder; at the contact his memories returned—Morgana and Mordred's attack, planning the battle at Camlann, Merlin running away, the night battle, the old sorcerer standing up for Camelot and turning the tide of the battle, the dragon, Mordred . . .

Merlin put a hand on Arthur's shoulder then grabbed his arm. "Lie back. Lie back."

Arthur came to himself and complied, but asked, "Where have you been?"

"It doesn't matter now." His face was full of sadness and regret.

Arthur pondered this for a moment before the pain overwhelmed him again. "Ah, my side . . . my side."

Merlin glanced at the wound. "You're bleeding."

Arthur rolled his eyes. Stating the obvious was one of Merlin's few talents. "That's all right. I thought I was dying."

Merlin appeared to ignore Arthur's attempt at humor. "I'm sorry. I thought I'd defied the prophecy." Arthur looked at him—what prophecy? "I thought I was in time."

In time for what? "What are you talking about?" Merlin wasn't normally cryptic.

"I defeated the Saxons. The dragon. And yet . . . And yet I knew it was Mordred that I must stop."

What the hell?! He hadn't even been there! Arthur patted Merlin on the shoulder. "The person who defeated them was the sorcerer."

"It was me." Merlin gripped Arthur's wrist as he started to cry.

He couldn't be serious. But why was he crying? They won and Gaius would heal him, no problem. "Don't be ridiculous, Merlin." He looked back at his friend, who kept crying. "This is stupid, why would you say that?"

"I'm a . . ." Merlin started to say, but stopped because of how badly he was crying. After a few moments, he regained some control and pointed to himself. "I'm a sorcerer. I have magic. And I use it for you, Arthur. Only for you."

The King's mouth hung open for a solid minute before he finally shook his head and spoke. Was this a poor attempt at humor or comfort? "Merlin, you are not a sorcerer. I would know!"

Merlin gave him the oddest look, a mix of determination and resignation, and said, "Look. Here." Then he turned his head toward the fire and raised his hand. Arthur lifted his head in order to better see whatever it was. "Upastige draca!" came out of Merlin's mouth- were those real words? -and an animated dragon formed from the flames and flew upward. He looked back at Arthur.

Arthur wasn't quite sure what to do or say. Indeed, his mouth had once again fallen open. And to add to the comedic effect, his eyes looked to be popping out of his head.

Merlin waved a hand in front of the King's face. "Hello? Arthur?" He scooted a little closer to get in his face. "Arthur? Are you in there?" He whistled and waved both hands in front of his friend's face before putting them on Arthur's shoulders and lightly shaking him.

"Ow, what did you do that for?" Arthur shouted. Then he blinked at Merlin, who'd sat down again. "So you really are a sorcerer, huh? That's so fantastic!"

Merlin gaped a moment then shook his head. Arthur hadn't tried to kill him yet? "Technically, I'm a warlock."

"What's the difference?" He had had no idea there was a difference; his magical education was, understandably, lacking.

"A warlock is born with the ability to perform magic. A sorcerer has to study and practice in order to perform magic." I can't believe I'm sitting here, alive, discussing magic with Arthur!

"Dang, and all this time you've been following me around . . . me, the son of the man who kills people at the mere mention of the word 'magic.' Wow. But why did you stay with me?"

"At first it was because of the destiny I mentioned, because I had to. But then it was because you became my friend and I wanted to." He was finally telling the truth, and it felt great!

"Destiny? You have a destiny?" As if someone like Merlin would have a destiny. But then again, he had magic.

"I am to help the Once and Future King- that's you -unite all of Albion and return magic to its lands, bringing about a golden age of peace and prosperity."

"You sound like you've rehearsed that . . . wait, you've called me 'Once and Future King' before." He sounded surprised.

"Yes. And I have rehearsed that actually. Do you know how long I've waited to tell you about all this?"

"So the times you've said you've my life more times than you could count—you were telling the truth?"

"Definitely. It was at least once a week, and since we've known each other for almost ten years, that means . . ." He broke off to mumble to himself and count on his fingers. "Over five hundred times! No stinking wonder I'm so tired!"

"You're exaggerating," Arthur pouted. Then he coughed, which aggravated his wound. "Ah! AHH! I think you might have to do it one more time."

Merlin's face fell and he rushed back over to Arthur's side. "Of course I will. But I won't know what I need to do until Gaius gets here."

"Well, can you at least stop the bleeding or relieve the pain?"Merlin threw him a frustrated look. "Please?"

"Did you just say 'please'? To me? A mere servant?"

"Oh, pul-ease, Merlin," Arthur mocked, then turned serious. "Besides, you're not just a 'mere servant.' You're my friend. You have been, for a long time."

Merlin looked like he might cry again, but softly said, "Thank you, Arthur." He cleared his throat and went on. "Let's see what I can do for you right now." He thought for a long moment, then said, "Gebétee his bréostwærc."

Immediately Arthur felt his pain lessen significantly, though not completely. "Thanks again," he murmured.

"What was that Arthur? I couldn't quite hear you."

"Oh, you heard me just fine you idiot! You just want to rub my face in the fact that I'm rubbish at talking about feelings."

"Damn straight," Merlin agreed, and smiled his cheesiest grin at the King.

"Argh!" Arthur growled. He tried to shift to get more comfortable, and was able to do so with little pain. "So that was really you, with the storm and lightning, killing most of the Saxons. And Morgana's dragon . . . you must be so powerful!"

"You have no idea. And neither do I, to be honest."

Despite the lightened mood, Merlin was still quite worried for Arthur's life. He had his suspicions about Mordred's sword, but needed to confer with Gaius first. He kept up the banter to distract Arthur from the seriousness of the wound. And there was still the fact that the King had taken Merlin's confession so well. Maybe he'd been hit on the head sometime during the battle?

Just then, they heard multiple footsteps coming through the woods. Merlin jumped up and extended his hands defensively. Arthur tried to move, but the warlock whipped his head around and pinned him down with a look; no magic needed.

Merlin turned his head back to see figures moving toward him. He relaxed when he saw Gaius leading a horse toward his and Arthur's horses. "Gaius, it's good to see you."

"Any change?" the old physician asked.

"No. But I managed to ease his pain a bit."

"Let me see." Gaius went to Arthur's side to examine the wound.

Merlin followed his mentor and noticed the herbs that Gaius was carrying. "Is that all you got?"

"The hills are crawling with Saxons. I got comfrey."

"You should've got sticklewort. There must've been sticklewort."

Gaius could see Merlin was starting to panic, and whispered, "Merlin, you need to calm down. You don't want to upset him."

"All right." He took a few deep breaths. "You do realize he has no idea what we're talking about, right?"

Gaius blinked. "Oh yeah." He turned back to Arthur.

"Hey, Gaius, did you know? He's a sorcerer!" Arthur said. Gaius didn't say anything, but looked at him with a raised eyebrow. Arthur noticed the lack of surprise. "Oh, of course you knew." He chuckled.

"I knew the moment he walked in my door and saved my life." He turned to Merlin. "So you told him, huh?"

"Yes. What's the point of hiding it anymore, really?"

"I can't believe you're still alive! And he's taking it so well! Did he get hit on the head sometime during the battle?"

"That's what I thought, at first. But he's showing no signs of concussion."

"Hey, I'm right here you know!" Arthur interrupted. "So do I need a physician now? Or can Merlin heal me?" Merlin rolled his eyes as if to say, well yeah.

"He can do far more than me, far more than you can ever imagine. Arthur, he doesn't just have magic . . . there are those who say he's the greatest sorcerer ever to walk the earth."

"Merlin?!" From peasant servant to most powerful magician? My brain's cramping!

"Always with the tone of disbelief. Magic is my true talent, not juggling. Prat."

"Merlin," Gaius reprimanded, giving him The Eyebrow. He turned back to Arthur. "If you are to stand any chance of survival, you'll need Merlin to help you, not me."

Merlin looked at Arthur. He was obviously trying to process all this information. "Don't think too hard, My Lord. You'll need all your wits about you to keep going." Arthur glared at him, but Merlin didn't pay him any mind. He drew Gaius a little ways away. "Gaius? What is his injury, really? It's not healing like it should."

The physician frowned. "He has a fragment of sword embedded in his chest."

Merlin's expression lightened. "That's all? Then we'll use magic to draw to it out." He didn't understand why Gaius still looked worried.

"No, the blade that struck Arthur is no ordinary blade. I fear it was forged in a dragon's breath. Its fatal power will not be easily denied."

Merlin's face fell again. "Aithusa. I knew I should have ordered him to go back to Kilgharrah!"

"Merlin, focus. The blade's point is travelling inexorably towards his heart. Not even you could hope to thwart such magic. It would take a power as ancient as the dragons themselves."

"No. There must be something that we can do, Gaius." I'm not just going to give up.

"Only the Sidhe possess such magic. In the midst of the Lake of Avalon there is an ancient isle. That is the source of their power. You must take him there."

"How? It's at least a day's hard ride from here. And with him gravely injured, it'll take at least twice that." Unbeknownst to him, their voices had gotten louder and Arthur could hear them.

"Why don't you just call that dragon? It can probably fly fast enough," Arthur interjected. Merlin's and Gaius's heads whipped around so fast Arthur wanted to laugh, but didn't. It would probably hurt.

"What? . . When? . . How? . ." Merlin gasped.

"Oh, I've known since it attacked Camelot."

"But you were knocked out! How . . ."

"Leon told me. He woke up and saw you talking to the beast. We figured you were a dragonlord, but kept that to ourselves. I mean, you told it to leave and never come back. If being a dragonlord was evil, you would have just told it to keep going, right?"

"Yeah . . ."

"You saved us, so I saw no reason to tell my father." He paused a moment to think. "But if you were a dragonlord, why didn't you stop it when it first started to attack?"

He sounded so hurt. "Because I wasn't a dragonlord then. Not until my father, Balinor, died. The son doesn't inherit the power until his father dies."

Oh my . . . "And I told you he wasn't worth your tears. I really am an ass."

"You didn't know. You couldn't have. And I forgave you for that a long time ago. Besides, I just saw him yesterday." He smiled.

Arthur opened his mouth to ask about that, but Gaius cut him off. "Anyway, you cannot travel tonight. Both of you need some rest."

The King pointed at Merlin. "You're not off the hook. You will explain that last statement to me. Along with everything else you did that I know nothing about."

Merlin bowed lavishly. "As you wish, Sire." Arthur glowered.

Gaius laid out two bedrolls while Merlin mashed up the comfrey and applied it to Arthur's wound. He placed a bandage over it, then drew a blanket over his King. Gaius handed him a pillow, which he turned to place behind Arthur's head. Arthur reached his good hand to Merlin's shoulder. "Thank you. Really," he said.

"Anytime. Now rest. I don't want to have to put a sleeping spell on you." He smiled while the King gave a brief chuckle.

Merlin sat on his bedroll and watched Arthur until the King fell asleep. Then he turned to Gaius, who was resting on the other bedroll. He quietly asked, "How long does he have?"

"At best, two days," Gaius replied. "But don't lose hope Merlin. If anyone can get him there safely, you can."

"I know. And I won't. Besides, Kilgharrah does fly pretty fast."

"Goodnight Merlin."

"Goodnight Gaius."


	2. Chapter 2

When Arthur woke in the morning, he felt stiff and sore, but not cold. He tried to get up but the pain shot through his side again. "Ahhh!" he yelled.

His yell attracted the attention of Merlin and Gaius, who'd been sitting at the campfire, talking quietly. They both jumped up and came over to him. Merlin frowned at him. "I thought I told you not to move."

"No," Arthur gasped, "you didn't. But it hurts again."

"I could hear that," Merlin said.

Gaius knelt and lifted the blanket to check the wound. "Looks like it's stopped bleeding."

"That'll make traveling easier, if we can keep it that way," Merlin added.

"I'll clean this up and apply fresh herbs."

Arthur looked up at Merlin while Gaius worked. "Can you do that . . . thing again? For the pain?"

"The spell? Sure. But let me get this straight—you're asking me to use magic on you."

"You did yesterday." Arthur pouted.

"I did that of my own free will. There's no way you could have stopped me." He smirked.

"Ugh, don't smirk. It reminds me of Morgana . . . but yes, I'm asking you to use magic on me. Please."

"Did you hear that Gaius? He said 'please.'"

"Merlin, stop torturing the poor man and give him some relief," Gaius scolded.

"I was going to anyway," Merlin grumbled, but repeated the spell he'd used yesterday.

"Thank you. Is there any food around?" the King asked.

"Some dried meat and fruit. But can you feed yourself?" Merlin asked.

Arthur attempted to lift his right hand, but it didn't get far before it tugged uncomfortably on his injury. "I guess not. Would you mind? . ."

"Not at all." Merlin rummaged through the pack Gaius had brought and pulled out several bits of dried food. He walked back to Arthur, sat and started feeding the King. Gaius finished his work and sat back to watch.

Arthur ate in silence for a while, thinking. Merlin could go anywhere, do anything and even be anything. But why, really? "Why are you still behaving like a servant?"

Merlin rolled his eyes. "I already told you. It's my destiny. As it has been since the day we met."

"I tried to take your head off with a mace."

The warlock chuckled briefly. "And I stopped you, using magic."

"You cheated!" I knew there was something about him.

"You were going to kill me."

"I should've."

"I'm glad you didn't. I do this because of who you are." Arthur scrutinized his friend closely. "Without you, Camelot's nothing."

He really believes that? "There was a time when that was true. Not now. There are many who can fill the crown."

He sounds so depressed. "There will never be another like you, Arthur. Now, I also do this because you're my friend and I don't want to lose you." He stopped feeding the King for a moment. "I will see you healed. Nothing can stop me—most powerful sorcerer, remember?" He grinned.

"Warlock," Arthur corrected, and all three men laughed.

Merlin finished feeding Arthur, brushed off his hands and stood up. "Let's see about getting you to Avalon." He and Gaius packed up the bags and loaded up the horses. After he'd put the fire out magically, he went back to Arthur.

"Aren't you going to call the dragon?" Arthur asked as Merlin carefully pulled him to standing.

Merlin rolled his eyes again. "Of course. But I can't do it right here."

Arthur looked around, puzzled. "Why not?"

The warlock physically restrained himself from rolling his eyes again. "Because he needs a larger space to land. Don't you remember how big he is?"

"Oh."

"Yeah. Oh. So we're going to walk until we find a clearing big enough for him. Then I'll call him."

"How?"

Merlin grinned. "You'll see." He and Gaius helped Arthur walk over to the horses. With a flash of golden eyes, he lifted the King into the saddle with minimal pain. "Hold on," he told Arthur, then said, "Áféh."

"What was that for?" Arthur asked.

"To keep you in place while I lead your horse."

"Oh." Arthur nodded. Merlin grasped the reins of his and Arthur's horses. Gaius took hold of his, and they were off. He felt no pain from the jostling of the horse and wondered if that was part of the spell too.

After a half hour or so of peaceful walking, they found a clearing that Merlin deemed large enough. He turned to the King and said, "Brace yourself."

"I thought I was . . ?"

"I meant mentally, dollophead. This is rather, um, intense." Arthur looked at him like he was mental, but nodded. Merlin took a deep breath, then roared, "O drakon! E male so ftengometta tesd'hup'anankes!"

Arthur couldn't keep his mouth from falling open. Merlin sounded like a completely different person—a much stronger and powerful one. Which is what he really is, he reminded himself. It's one thing to think, oh yeah, my friend's a dragonlord. It's a completely different thing to see him roar like that with obvious power. He looked around for a minute, expecting the dragon to appear. "So, it doesn't just appear," he said with disappointment.

Merlin stomped his foot. "No, he doesn't just appear. He has to fly from wherever he is. I basically just asked him to come talk to me and he has to obey me. It takes him a few minutes, depending on how far away he is. And he isn't as young as he used to be." The warlock frowned.

The King glanced over at Gaius. He looked more than a little startled himself. "You've never seen him do that?" he asked the physician.

"Nooo. I knew about the dragon; I've spoken to him. And I knew about Merlin's dragonlord powers but hadn't seen them in action."

They felt silent while they waited. After a few minutes, they heard a curious thumping sound and listened as it got louder and louder. Merlin smiled as a dark shape appeared in the sky and gradually grew larger. Then the dragon was there; he hovered for a moment before landing heavily in the clearing.

"Kilgharrah, thank you for coming. I would not have summoned you, if there was any other choice," Merlin said as he walked over to the dragon and put his arms around the dragon's lowered head.

When Merlin let go, Kilgharrah looked around the clearing with interest. Upon spotting Arthur, he nodded at the King. To Merlin he said, "I still have some time. I see your secret is no longer secret from your King." Arthur's mouth fell open again; the dragon could talk!

"Oh. No," Merlin stuttered. "Kilgharrah, Arthur Pendragon, Once and Future King. Arthur, this is Kilgharrah, better known as the Great Dragon."

The dragon inclined his head. "Young Pendragon, this is an honor." He turned back to Merlin. "But I sense all is not right here."

"No Kilgharrah. The battle for Camelot is over. We've driven the Saxons away and Mordred is dead. But Arthur was gravely wounded by him. Mordred's sword was burnished by Aithusa and a piece has broken off inside Arthur. I am not powerful enough to pull it out and heal him."

"What do you want me to do? I cannot heal the work of another dragon."

Merlin grimaced. "No, I wanted to ask you something else." He thought how to best phrase his request. "Would you take us to the isle at the center of the Lake of Avalon? I'm told the Sidhe there have enough magic to completely heal Arthur."

Kilgharrah looked slightly affronted at this, but grudgingly admitted, "The Sidhe there have sufficient magic to heal him, yes. But you'll have to persuade them. They've no love for mortals, you especially."

"I know. But I'm not exactly mortal, am I? I'm sure I can manage to persuade them. And if they irritate you, you can just roast them." He and Kilgharrah chuckled.

Arthur exchanged a look with Gaius. Merlin's "not exactly mortal?" What the hell does that mean? He saw that this was news to Gaius as well, judging from his shocked look. And what was a shee? They turned their attention back to the two magical beings.

"Merlin, as you know, I'm not a horse. But I see that time is of the essence. Bring the King over and secure him to my back."

The warlock ran back to where Gaius and Arthur sat staring. He giggled gleefully a bit before taking up the reins of Arthur's horse and leading it over to the dragon. Gaius followed. Merlin looked up at Arthur and said, "You're going to love this! Riding on a dragon is the best!"

Arthur looked back at Gaius. The physician shrugged and kept walking. "Uh, if you say so Merlin," the King replied.

As they got closer to the dragon, the horse started to buck and whinny. Merlin stopped, petted the horse's nose and whispered something close to its ear. The horse stilled and began walking again when the warlock pulled gently on the reins. He'll never stop surprising me, Arthur concluded.

When the horse was close enough, Merlin handed the reins to Gaius. With another flash of his eyes, he lifted Arthur from the horse and settled him on Kilgharrah's back. He used the same word as before to hold the King in place. Arthur remembered something just then, and pulled the chain off from around his neck. "Gaius," he said, and tossed the necklace downward. Surprisingly, Merlin managed to catch it.

Merlin took a look at it. "Oh no, Arthur . . ." But he handed it to the physician.

The King ignored him and spoke to Gaius. "Give this to Guinevere."

"It's the Royal Seal, sire," Gaius said with surprise.

"If I am to die, I can think of no one who I would rather succeed me." Gaius nodded.

"One thing Gaius—you know I was betrayed. The girl, Eira cannot be trusted," Merlin said.

"I know," was the reply. Merlin looked at him quizzically, but let that pass. He turned away climb up the dragon, but Gaius called him back. "Merlin." He held out his arms to embrace his ward, then pushed him back a bit. "Now go. Look after him. Go."

Merlin nodded at him, then climbed carefully up Kilgharrah's back to sit behind Arthur. "See you later!" he called.

Gaius backed up as Kilgharrah made to stand. The dragon flexed his wings and with a mighty down stroke, lifted them into the sky. The physician shielded his eyes from the sun and watched the three of them gradually fade into the distance. The hopes and prayers of many went with them.

Arthur was sure he'd left his stomach back on the ground with Gaius. He didn't say anything for a few minutes; he was too overwhelmed by the sensations. And Merlin's whooping. He wondered how the dragon blocked it out so he could focus on flying.

"Can you stop that?" he yelled back to his friend.

"What?" Merlin yelled back.

"Can you . . . Oh bother." He turned his head as far as he could and yelled, "Do you know a better way to communicate?"

"How about this?" Arthur heard in his head. He was so shocked he jumped, but luckily the spell kept him in place.

"How did you do that?"

"It's something I can do. You probably can't though, so you'll have to yell. I'll focus my senses better so I can hear you."

"At least you stopped whooping."

"I can't help it. Flying is such a thrill."

"Maybe for you."

"Pshh. So what did you want to talk about? I imagine you have a lot of questions."

"You could say that." He thought through the mental list of questions he'd made. "What's a 'she'? Some new title for Morgana?"

"No, the s-i-d-h-e are fairies. Nasty little blue things. Of course they don't like me either. I've killed a few. You've actually met a few without knowing."

"I think I'd remember meeting little blue fairies."

"They didn't look like that at the time. Do you remember Sofia and her father? They were outcast Sidhe in human form. And Elena had one inside her until Gaius and I chased it out."

Arthur's mouth fell open, but he didn't say anything.

"You'll want to close that—bugs are more wont to fly in at this height."

The King closed his mouth until he thought of another question. "Will it hurt?"

"What? Getting the bit of sword out and healing you? I've no idea."

"Great. Thanks for that." He was silent for a few minutes.

"Surely you haven't run out of questions yet."

"Not on your life. I'm thinking."

"Don't strain yourself."

"Ha ha. Okay, how about this? The first time you saved my life, when Father made you my manservant—did you use magic?"

"Yes. I used it to drop the chandelier on the witch and to slow down time so I could pull you out of the way of the dagger."

"You slowed time?"

"Yeah. I suppose I could do more with time, but I haven't had a lot of time to experiment with that."

"Experiment . . . with time?"

"Sure, why not?"

"O-kay. That's kind of scary, you know that?"

"No. I've been able to do that for a while. It's instinctive."

"Oh, great." He thought for a moment. "So, Mordred. Did you know he was going to betray us? Is that why you didn't like him?"

"I liked him well enough. I didn't trust him. And yes, I knew he could betray us. I've known about that possibility since we met him. Kilgharrah told me."

"That long ago? Does that mean Kilgharrah knew about Morgana too?"

Arthur heard a sigh in his head. "Yes, unfortunately. But I fought him on that. I insisted she had a good heart and wouldn't betray us. Turns out he was right after all."

"If you knew about them for this long, why didn't you tell me before, when we could have stopped them?"

"You wouldn't have believed me then. For Morgana, your father's influence on you was too strong. And you were too determined to trust Mordred. Instead of helping him, I just alienated him."

"You blame yourself for their betrayals." It wasn't a question; he could just tell.

"Yes. I should have helped Morgana feel secure in her magic by sharing my secret, but I didn't. And then I had to . . . never mind. I'll tell you that later. And maybe befriending Mordred would have helped him. I truly believe he had nothing against you until you executed Kara."

"One of my biggest regrets. Surely there had to have been another way . . ."

"Don't do that to yourself. You can 'what if' until the cows come home but it won't change anything. Believe me, I know."

"All right, what did you mean when you said you're 'not exactly mortal'?"

"You heard that, did you? I was hoping you hadn't."

"We all did. Now explain. I'm sure Kilgharrah wants to know too."

"Yes, thank you young King. I did," Kilgharrah said in both of their heads.

"Fine. Okay. So before Morgana started the war, she sent a creature that drained my magic completely. I couldn't go to Camlann with you because I had no power. I went to the birthplace of magic, to see if I could somehow get it back. Morgana trapped me there. After a while, my father came and talked to me. Long story short, he motivated me to not give up. I got my magic back, and in the process, he told me I was immortal."

Neither Arthur nor Kilgharrah said anything for a minute. The King thought Kilgharrah must know something about how all this was possible. He hoped he would understand too, in time. But for now, all he could say was, "I'm so sorry I called you a coward."

"I know you didn't mean it. You were hurt that I wasn't going to be with you after being there for you every other time. So you lashed out."

"That doesn't mean it was okay, because it wasn't." He thought for a moment. "Wait, did you say you saw your father? Isn't he . . ."

"Dead? Yeah, technically. But also, no, not really. It's hard to explain. I'll have to think about it."

"That's what you meant when you said 'I saw him yesterday.'"

"Oh yeah. I did say that."

"I hate to interrupt, but we're over the lake now," Kilgharrah rumbled.


	3. Chapter 3

Both men looked over Kilgharrah's side. Arthur thought it was beautiful, but he'd rather see it from the ground. Merlin gushed over how gorgeous it looked from up this high, with the sunlight glinting off of it just so. The King wanted to roll his eyes at that, but then remembered what they were here for and how Merlin had already saved him "about five hundred times," so he refrained.

Kilgharrah started his descent. Not far off, they saw the island in the middle of the lake. All that could be seen on it was a dark tower, not very high. Arthur supposed there must be more there that he couldn't see, and felt a bit apprehensive. Merlin was feeling a little high on the magic he could sense so far. And they'd just reached the edge of it!

The dragon landed heavily next to the tower, which wasn't as small as it had looked. Kilgharrah had a little trouble folding his wings. Merlin reached down and rubbed Kilgharrah's back. The dragon turned his head around and looked at the warlock, shaking his head. Merlin frowned but slid down from the dragon's back. Once there, he magically unstuck Arthur from Kilgharrah and levitated him down to the ground. If it wouldn't have hurt, Arthur would have bent down to the ground and kissed it. It was probably not a move befit a king anyway.

All three turned their heads when an irritated voice behind them said, "Who dares trespass on Avalon's shore?"

A small, ugly blue person with wings hovered there, glaring at them. Merlin and Kilgharrah recognized this nasty, little blue person as a Sidhe elder, but Arthur was stumped. The thing looked like an angry fairy—but weren't fairies supposed to be pretty and kind? Oh, this must be a Sidhe.

The little person flew closer and examined them. "Oh, I see. A dragon, the Once and Future King and Emrys." He spat "Emrys" like it was a dirty word.

"Who's Emrys?" Arthur asked.

"He really is as stupid as everyone says," the sidhe sneered.

Both Arthur and Merlin glared at the Sidhe. "Remember that prophecy I told you about? 'Emrys' is the name given to me. It's what the druids call me," Merlin said.

"Great."

"Why are you here, Emrys? Planning to murder more of my kin? Or do you just want to use our magic?" the Sidhe snarled.

Merlin raised his voice. "Actually, I'm here for a reason that will benefit us all."

"What could that possibly be?" The sidhe brandished his staff. Merlin suddenly wished he had his.

"We came to ask you to heal the Once and Future King. He's been mortally wounded by a blade forged in a dragon's breath. A piece broke off inside him and it's traveling to his heart. It will kill him if it isn't removed."

"Then why haven't you done it?"

"My magic isn't powerful enough."

The sidhe elder threw back his tiny head and laughed maniacally. "Emrys isn't powerful enough to heal his king."

Kilgharrah growled and Arthur yelled, "Hey!" He started walking toward the fairy but found himself stopped in his tracks. He couldn't move any muscle in his body.

"No, King, this is not your argument. Now, Emrys, why should we help you, murderer?"

"Because he will fulfill the prophecy. Magic will be restored to the land; we will be free."

The fairy looked unconvinced. "Do you swear to this?"

Arthur found he could move again. "I do." He gave Merlin a look that said we'll talk about this later.

"If you help me heal him, I swear I will help him fulfill the prophecy."

The sidhe nodded. "Then we will heal him. Come this way." He turned and gestured for them to follow him. "Dragon, you will wait here."

Kilgharrah growled but shifted downward until he lay on the ground. "See that you fulfill your end of the bargain, fairy. I ate recently but I could use a snack."

The sidhe glared at Kilgharrah, who ignored him. Then he huffed and started flying toward the middle of the island, past the tower. After several yards, Merlin felt a magical shift like they'd walked through a waterfall.

A whole new view appeared before their eyes. More Sidhe flew around them, engaged in various tasks. Colors seemed brighter, buildings and plants perfectly formed and beautiful music hummed in the background. Merlin and Arthur didn't notice they'd stopped to gawk until their guide spoke in an irritated voice, "Keep moving."

A few of the Sidhe stopped to look at them, but most ignored their presence. Their grumpy guide finally hovered in place in front of a building with a red cross on it. The entrance was small, but the sidhe waved his hand and it grew tall enough to accommodate the two humans.

He led them inside to a table and held a brief conversation with a sidhe behind it. Finally he led them to a room down the next corridor. It held a bed and a table. The sidhe left them there and flew out. When he came back, two other Sidhe came with him.

"Healers," their guide commented. "Arthur Pendragon, lay down on the bed." Merlin helped him sit and lay down slowly. The pain had begun to return by now and he felt feverish.

One of the other healers flew over to Merlin. "Emrys. We will need you to add your power to our effort and be a bridge between us and him."

"Whatever you need me to do," Merlin replied.

"Good. Please lay a hand on his wound. We will direct the spell through you. Don't fight it or it will not work."

Merlin nodded and walked closer to Arthur. "You ready for this?" he asked Arthur.

"No, but do I have a choice?" he replied.

"Nope."

The three Sidhe flew over to the bed. The one who'd guided them said, "Arthur Pendragon, we are going to put you to sleep so you will not feel the pain. When you wake, you will be healed."

Arthur nodded. It was somewhat unbelievable to think that two days ago he'd known nothing about magic. And now he was in the middle of Avalon- a mythical place -having powerful magic performed on him. He'd learned so much that his head was spinning, so it was good he'd be getting a nap.

The Sidhe landed on the bed next to him. One said, "Slæp." That was the last thing Arthur heard for several hours.

Merlin watched Arthur fall asleep rapidly. It was only slightly faster than the King fell asleep naturally. He chuckled and laid his hand on Arthur's wound. "I'm ready," he told the Sidhe.

The Sidhe nodded at him and joined hands. "Gyden æblæce, álífeste ús wissian úreu galdorléoð þurh Emrys." A strong white light rose from the Sidhe and flooded into Merlin. He gasped and they continued their spell. "Gyden æblæce,besécaþ þu, wisest ús to þæt clyne in þære mægencyninges bánhús. Álifeste ús áwendan þære ealdorlegu þære mægencyning þone mihtlicne áleofaþ. We þe þurhhæle þin licsare."

Merlin felt the light, as power, flow though him, down his arm and into Arthur's wound. The left side of Arthur's chest glowed in that white light for what felt like several minutes. Then it spread through his entire body, and Merlin watched that glow for a few minutes until he felt faint and his world whited out.

When Merlin regained consciousness, he found himself sitting in a chair. He looked at Arthur; he was lying on the bed still, sleeping peacefully. One of the Sidhe, the grumpy one, flitted over Arthur's head, doing who knows what. He looked over at Merlin and said, "Ah, Emrys, you are awake."

"How long was I unconscious?" Merlin asked.

"Not long. Not as long as your King will be." He looked down at Arthur then back at Merlin. "You lasted longer than we thought you would. No human has withstood that amount of power before."

"I'm not exactly human."

"Of course not."

Merlin blinked. He didn't know why he was surprised the Sidhe knew that. They probably knew everything. "How long will Arthur sleep?"

"The rest of the day. Having one's destiny changed and subverting dragon magic is no simple thing to live through."

The warlock's mouth fell open for a moment. "True," he agreed in a weak voice.

"Rest, Emrys. Your journey's task is finished. The rest of your life will not be so simple."

That was simple? Merlin thought, just before his eyes closed again.

.

When Arthur woke, the first thing he felt was something hard but warm under him. It was moving up and down slowly in a regular rhythm. He opened his eyes to see a mostly dark sky, just beginning to lighten with dawn. He felt behind him to what he was leaning against—the surface was uneven and scaly? He quickly sat up and turned to look behind him at a dragon. He opened his mouth to yell, but only managed a squeak before a hand covered it. Merlin's face appeared in front of him and said, "Shh. It's just Kilgharrah." Merlin moved his hand.

And just like that, the memories of the last few days came back to him. "Oh, right." Then he belatedly realized that sitting up had not caused him any pain. He looked at the left side of his chest, where Mordred's sword had slid into him. No wound. He poked at it and felt no pain; no blood came away on his fingers. "It worked?"

A little blue figure- a sidhe -appeared in front of him. "Of course it worked, oh mighty king," the fairy said sarcastically, rolling his tiny eyes. "Are you sure he's the one, Emrys?"

"Yes, I am," Merlin said.

"Well then," the sidhe started, "listen to me, Once and Future King. Keep your promise to free magic in your land or Destiny may find a way to take back your life sooner than you'd like."

Arthur stared at the fairy, open-mouthed, for a moment. "I will."

"Don't worry, he'll have me around to remind him," Merlin said. He smiled at the sidhe.

The sidhe smiled back, but with his pointed teeth it looked menacing. "I will leave you then. Goodbye Emrys, Once and Future King and dragon." Kilgharrah snorted steam from his nostrils and the fairy flew away quickly.

"So now what?" Arthur asked.

"We go home, obviously," Merlin said. "Kilgharrah, would you take us to Camelot?"

"I will not," the dragon replied.

"Why not?"

"Because you two have things to talk about, and the walk home will let you do that."

"What?" Arthur butted into the discussion.

"I will fly you to the shore. There are a couple events that must play out once you get there. Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to get going. I need to straighten out Aithusa, and that's likely to take some time."

Arthur and Merlin looked at each other for a moment, then proceeded to climb onto Kilgharrah's back, as requested. He leapt into the air for the short flight to the shore. When he landed, they scrambled off of him quickly. He swiveled his head to look at the two men. "Safe journey to you. I shall see you both fairly soon, I expect."

"Goodbye Kilgharrah," Merlin said, patting the dragon's snout fondly.

"Thank you Kilgharrah," Arthur said, and gave the dragon a small bow. Kilgharrah took off into the air, rising rapidly despite his ailment.

"Well, okay then, should we get going or do you want to rest here a bit?" Merlin asked his friend.

"I've had enough rest. But walking back to Camelot from here? Are you sure you can't just . . ." he made a whirling motion with his hands.

"Can't just what?"

"Um, transport us instantly or something, like Morgause did that one time?"

"No. I don't know how to do that yet. I haven't exactly had the time to figure it out, remember?"

"Oh, yeah."

They fell silent then, just thinking. A sound of movement in the bushes there startled them, and they moved into defensive postures. "Who's there?" Merlin called.

Bushes swayed and moved aside to reveal—Morgana. Both men stepped closer, but Morgana raised her hands and said, "Don't hurt me! I come in peace!"

She stepped out of the bushes slowly, not looking away from the men in front of her. "That's pretty unbelievable, coming from you," Arthur said. "You started a war, killed hundreds of people, tortured many more, turned Mordred and my own wife against me . . . I could go on. So tell me why I should believe you?"

"You're right about all of that. And I can't blame you if you hate me and kill me now. I deserve it. But . . . I realized a few things after Mordred died."

"What, that you're a selfish b—"

"Yes. I've thrown away the lives of so many and turned my back on family and friends for nothing."

Merlin let his hands fall. "So—what? You're sorry now?"

"Oh yes," her hands moved into a pleading gesture. "I am so, so sorry. I know that probably nothing I can say or do will make up for that."

Arthur planted his sword in the ground. "Maybe not, but I'm listening anyway. What do you want?"

"I'm giving myself up to you—I want to go home. I want to see Camelot one last time before you execute me. "

Merlin looked at her, puzzled. "No tricks?"

"No. Especially because I realized . . . I realized that life is meaningless without love. And," she walked disturbingly close to Merlin, "I love you." She grabbed his head and pulled it down for a firm kiss.

Merlin was too dazed to object, at all, especially after her hands started massaging his scalp rather soothingly. He immediately began kissing her back.

Arthur just stared with his mouth hanging open. Again. I really ought to stop doing this before my face freezes this way. He shook his head and said, "Merlin, what the hell?" Merlin didn't even twitch in his direction. "Merlin! Stop kissing Morgana. She's evil and . . . my sister. Eww!" Now they had their arms wrapped around each other. "Okay okay, Morgana, you can come back to Camelot!"

She moved her mouth from Merlin's with a pop then bent her head to look at her brother. "Thank you Arthur!" Merlin pulled her head back to his and they resumed kissing.

"Ugh. You're welcome." He looked around and found a nice fallen tree to sit on. It looked like they were going to be a while and he didn't want to stand there the entire time. He sat there for a few minutes before searching for flat rocks at his feet. At least he could amuse himself while he waited by skipping stones on the lake.

After several minutes, Arthur got bored and looked up at Merlin and Morgana. He regretted it instantly and groaned. "Ugh, I wish I could un-see that. Get a room, you two!"

They pulled apart again with another pop. "Oh, we're planning on it," Morgana said wickedly. Her hand slid down Merlin's arm to take his hand.

Arthur turned back around to face them. "We should get going." He moved to stand in front of them, his back to them. If he didn't see them maybe his roiling stomach would calm down.

"Just a minute—I have to bind her magic first," Merlin said.

"Wha?" Arthur had turned around again.

"Bind my magic," Morgana repeated. "Otherwise I'd just break out of the dungeon or wherever you put me. Especially if it was away from the love of my life." The couple exchanged another sappy look.

The King rolled his eyes. "Fine. Do what you have to do then."

Merlin thought for a few moments, then spoke, "Forwríð hire drýcræft into þære lybesn." He held a heart-shaped charm in his hand. A golden mist seemed to seep from Morgana's skin and flow into the charm.

She slumped a bit when the gold ran out, but Merlin caught her. "Oh, it's such an odd feeling," she said.

"Try it," Merlin said.

She pointed her hand at Arthur and said, "Astrice!" Arthur flinched back, but nothing happened. She smiled beatifically. "Wonderful!"

"It certainly is," Merlin replied. He bent to kiss her but Arthur jumped in between them.

"Don't you two start that again. We'll be here for a week!"

The couple laughed as if he'd just told the world's best joke. He stared at them, not sure if he should be disgusted or nauseated. He turned around and said, "Let's go," and started walking. Their walk home is a story for another time.* Suffice it to say, it took a longer time than usual to make the journey, but they made it home alive.

The sentries had spotted them, so by the time they made it to the gate in the lower town, people had gathered with banners and flags of all sorts. So many people tried to talk to them that they gave up trying and just smiled and waved. No one even batted an eye at Morgana. Maybe Merlin had made her invisible?

Gwen, Gaius and all the knights were waiting on the steps of the castle. Gwaine and Percival had intended to intercept Morgana and slay her, but Gwen used her Queen voice on them to talk them out of it. After the three had freshened up and enjoyed a good night's rest in their own beds, they met at the smaller round table that was in the council chambers: the King, Queen, Round Table knights, physician, warlock, and witch (now visible).

They were in there all day long, swapping stories and listening. Meals were brought in at regular intervals. The castle staff and resident nobility gossiped about what might be happening, but no actual news made it out.

Merlin was made to perform magic several times. Morgana demonstrated her lack of magic. Most everyone took the news well, but were shocked when they announced their immediate engagement. "It's not like it happened yesterday. We've been waiting nearly ten years for this!" Arthur just rolled his eyes while Gwen said, "I knew it!"

Arthur's, Merlin's and Morgana's stories were the most interesting by far. Several revelations and resolutions came from them: Morgana was under house arrest until she'd apologized to each and every person she'd harmed. The law on magic would be revoked and replaced with a set of laws welcoming magic back in stages. Eventually magicians would be free but punished if they committed crimes with or without their magic, like everyone else. Arthur also reluctantly approved Merlin and Morgana's marriage, but questioned their sanity several times.

Eventually they came out of the council chambers, but it was too late in the day to make any public proclamations. So Arthur's many proclamations were saved until the next morning. The people oohed and ahhed at all the appropriate places. Surprisingly, most people applauded when magic was freed and Merlin was announced as Court Warlock (though he fainted because Arthur had failed to tell him beforehand). They booed at Morgana's presence, but would probably accept her in time.

Finally Merlin had his place at the Round Table. Arthur thought about ordering him to wear star-spangled robes to meetings, just to get even for his wisecracks over the years. But Gwen used her Queen voice on him and he decided against it. Nobody forgot Merlin's first meeting at the Table—he celebrated with fireworks over the table. By the end, everyone had patted him on the back, ruffled his hair or given him a hug.

And they all lived happily ever after.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, sorry about that last line; I know it's waaaay past cliche. I hope you enjoyed the story anyway- thank you for reading! :)
> 
> *I've planned a companion fic in which Merlin tells Arthur every time he's saved his life. More cracky fun for everyone!


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